Watching first-mover Game Golf and newcomer
Arccos hit the market running with shot
tracking
systems has been fascinating to me, a former
technology guy who now runs a golf website.
I
follow all of the trends in technology, and like
many
of us I’ve purchased many gadgets before
they were ready for prime time – even if they
seemed destined to fail I wanted to be one of
the
believers who gave them a chance.

Many wound up in the “land of forgotten
toys” (my desk drawer) where they can hang
around with my Sprint Palm Pilot phone. I’ve
become more selective as I get older, joining
the
ranks of those that wait for version 2.0 before
taking
the plunge.

But I’m going to go out on a limb with
two things. First off, the category of club-
attached
GPS tracking devices is here to stay. And
secondly,
I’m going to commit to a partnership for
AmateurGolf.com with one of these companies
before the first day of spring. I sincerely
believe
it’s another example of bringing us closer to
statistical analysis available to pros now (think
ShotLink) at an affordable price point.

Let’s take a look at the two main players.
I encourage our readers who have put
them into
play to provide us with your feedback on not
just
their usability, but how it’s helped you score
better and enjoy the game.

GAME GOLF

As mentioned above, Game Golf is the
undisputed first-mover who hit the market in
2014
with a serious product, in partnership with
Graeme
McDowell and a strong team of technology
backers in
the San Francisco Bay Area, where the
company is
headquartered. I wasn’t sure at the time what
to make of it. The idea of putting red disks
onto the
end of all 14 clubs, then tapping a belt-worn
device
before each shot to mark exactly where you
are on
the course seemed too good to be true.

The ability to “mark” your position
on the course during a round was a feature in
some
of the GPS distance devices, but it just
seemed too
impractical to try and keep up with on the
course,
especially during tournament play or a serious
match.

Had Game Golf, with its little red discs
finally
solved this problem? And would it be full of
bugs or
too cumbersome to use?

As it turns out, Game Golf works, and it’s
perfect for individual game analysis. Moreover,
the
information gathered from the millions of shots
hit
around the world has already told company
founder
John McGuire a couple of things he was willing
to
share with me. (And the gleam in his Irish
eyes told
me that there is more information coming.)

Game Golf works
independently of your smart phone or
computer
while on the course. The package retails for
$199.

“We already know that golfers across all
skill levels come up short of the green the
majority
of the time,” McGuire told me at the PGA
Show in Florida. “We also know that most
players have two clubs in their bag that they
hardly
ever hit.”

Imagine then, the power of information
applied
to your own golf game. You might know you
never
hit your 52 -degree wedge, but just can’t pull
the trigger on replacing it with something that
might
help you score better. Game Golf might help
you
make that decision.

More importantly, when you’re looking at
your own stats like greens hit, up-and-down
percentage, and everything else in an easy-
to-
understand graphical view, you might decide
it’s time to stop worrying about hitting the
green more from 175 yards and start thinking
about
how to get it up-and-down more often, like
the pros
do.

I wasn’t sure where Arccos fit into the
equation until I saw their presence at the PGA
show
in Florida. They had a really nice space,
signage,
and professional team, including co-founder Sal
Syed
-- a former CRM software executive. This
Stamford,
Connecticut company is -- if you’ll allow me
to throw in a Harvey Penick reference --
“taking dead aim” at the golf shot
tracking category.

I’m not sure what the late Mr. Penick,
known for the country wisdom of his best-
selling
“Little Red Book” would think of all of
this technology being applied to golf. I’m of
the school that it’s time to get with the
program, at least for myself, and stop entering
my
stats into an app and let one of these able
companies do the work for me.

The Arccos
package,
for now, works on iOS only and retails for
$399

The black Arccos grip attachments, similar
to
the little red discs provided by Game Golf,
attach to
each of a player’s clubs and are paired to
that club so you never have to tell it what
club
you’re hitting on the course. The Bluetooth-
connected Arccos devices are considerably
larger,
and their rubber housing provides a bit of
extra
length when plugged into the grip. 99% of
players
will adjust to this quickly, and might even feel
some
benefit from the initial feeling that you’re
gripping down on the club.

From a functional standpoint, Arccos
doesn’t require a device to be worn on the
body or a tap before each shot. They’ve built
in a motion sensor that picks up shots as you
go.
You will, of course, need a Bluetooth-
connected
smart phone in your bag or on the cart to
allow
Arccos to do its thing.

Some of you might read that difference
and
think it’s game over. But it’s much
more complicated than that. What about
putting and
overall shot tracking accuracy? And what if
you
prefer to keep your phone out of the equation
and do
all of the analysis later? The good news from
my
perspective is that competition is going to bring
innovation, and new features on both
platforms are
bound to come of it. Maybe it will be like iOS
vs.
Android. (And by the way, note that the
Arccos Golf
functions on iOS only for now.)

I absolutely love the idea of tracking my
shots
and analizing the data. I'm doing an archaic
version
of that now by inputting my greens hit, putts,
fairways, etc. into a free app. Both Game Golf
and
Arccos notch this up to an entirely different
level,
like going from a flip phone to a smart phone.
I'm
hooked and I haven't even fully demoed them
for
myself.

If the long term goal is to capture data
automatically and not input it, either company
is
going to have to show me that their system is
best
before I feel comfortable recommending them
to
members. It’s simply too early to pick a
winner. And maybe, as McGuire told me, both
companies can raise category awareness and
grow
at the same time. After all, everyone’s got
woods, irons, wedges, and a putter, and a
whole
garage full of last year’s models. But
what’s the installed base of game tracking
devices, something like .05% of golfers? I like
the
target market opportunity -- tens of millions of
golfers worldwide who love technology and
want to
lower their handicaps.

There are going to be people who think
it’s a fad, and would never consider it for
themselves. And that’s fine. We play an
individual game and after now playing several
rounds with friends that use these products I
can
tell you it adds no time to their routine, and
doesn’t affect the other players in the group
a bit, other than the obvious questions early
adopters get – kind of like the first time I put
my
brand new Rescue club into play before anyone
had
adopted the term hybrid, or Y.E. Yang had
used one
to hoist a ball over a huge tree to four feet
and
defeat Tiger Woods in a major. Those of you
who
have purchased Game Golf or Arccos know
what
I’m talking about. The problem is,
you’re showing your friends the product itself
on the course, but that’s not the part that
gives them the "ah-ha moment," or the
visualization of how it's going to help them
improve.
Show them the app and all of the cool data
you now
know about your game, and the lightbulbs will
go on.

FOLLOW-UP

We will be posting full reviews of both
Game
Golf and Arccos (and any newcomers) in the
next
30-60 days and plan on having an
announcement for
you before the first day of Spring. It would
really
help to hear from our regular visitors and
members,
so if you’ve put one into play please let us
know what you think.